What Is the Purpose of the TransCanada Pipeline?

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The TransCanada pipeline is a series of pipelines built to transport natural gas to the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Quebec and Ontario. This natural gas pipeline system is the longest pipeline in Canada and derives its name from TransCanada Pipelines, LP, the company that maintains it.

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In 1951, the construction of a natural gas pipeline across Canada was evenly funded by American and Canadian interests and given to the Canadian company TransCanada Pipelines, which was incorporated specifically for this purpose. The layout of the pipeline system was debated by various parties between an all-Canadian route and a route that incorporated a Southern branch of the line into the American Midwest. The all-Canadian route eventually received preference, and gas was delivered to Regina and Winnipeg by 1957. By October 1958, the pipeline had been completed and was transporting gas from Alberta to Toronto.

Construction began on the TransCanada pipeline due to a Canadian population boom and the resulting energy shortages. Two companies, Western Pipelines and the Canadian Delhi Oil Company, were originally interested in moving gas Eastward across Canada. C.D. Howe, a Canadian Cabinet Minister, merged the two companies in 1954 and proceeded with the construction of an all-Canadian pipeline.